highs and lows

a few things that have been adding a little extra happy to my week

my mom bought me a bag of caramel apple sugar babies. have you tried them? they're awesomeness will amaze you.

I made rice krispie treats with extra marshmallow fluff and then added a bag of lucky charms marshmallows (from amish country). They were addicting. And sadly all gone. 

I'm 1.5 episodes in to Hart of Dixie. Between Jason Street, Burt Reynolds the alligator, boxes of wine, and Zoe's one liners I think I'm madly in love with this show. It's mildly corny but I like Rachel Bilson's wardrobe and George  is cute. Too bad he's marrying Lemon Meringue. My favorite line so far: There it is. Rock Bottom. I just played Dixie with my butt. This never happened, you hear me?" (while she is making out with the gate keeper Wade and chugging a box of wine on the side of the road).   Bonus: the Country music soundtrack.

Boo might be the worlds 2nd cutest dog (after Scoutie Lou of course)

layering sweaters make my days warmer since all of my winter coats are still in storage.

caramel chocolate bars from Little Debbie and fresh pears. i forgot how much I loved you.

All the seasons of One Tree Hill are on Netflix Instant now. 

heating pads for my cramps

I realized i need these green jeans

yay for my new blog header

Lows

I screwed up a wedding linen order for my mom. So now we have 200 white chair covers when we need ivory. Ouch to that $300.00 mistake.

Poor Scout has a infected paw. Vet bills make me less than happy.

I still haven't found aforementioned green jeans.

cramps 

when is the time change happening? I am tired of it being dark at 7 am and pm

Green, Green Grass of Home

this weekend I watched my dad and brother pack tractors into one of our barns like a jigsaw puzzle

two of my favorite guys on the planet

 

My parents got a new tin roof put on the house. I hope it rains next time I visit  because the rain on the roof is going to make for some great napping.

and I got to hang out with the cutest little Batgirl in Ohio

and of course snuggle with the pupcakes

thats her "bitch, I can't believe you woke me up from my nap" face

Small town

You know why I love being from a small town?

Accountability

Everyone knows your parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and probably share a few cousins with you.

You can't do ANYthing without your mom finding out. No changing into slutty clothes after you get somewhere, no smoking cigarettes on your way to school (I saw a high school kid doing this on my way to work today.)

Even if someone doesn't know your name, they know your face. I still hear "you must be Donnie's daughter, because you're put'near the spitting image of him.". And as much as no little girl wants to hear that she looks like her bearded dad, I knew if I did something wrong my dad would inevitably find out. He always told me before I left the house to Remember my last name. How could I forget, walking around with that tell tale inherited face and red hair he passed on to me? 

me in 1st grade. 

that's my dad on the left ,with his mom and brother. not sure what they were drinking
but they were sure pumped about it. (and yes my family is as country as this photo would lead you to believe).

dad's senior picture. pre-beard.

You can't make up excuses about where you were because the whole town knows your car, and where you live. They know there wasn't a wreck on your way to work because there are only 2 main roads. If you're "sick" you can't leave the house or the clerk at the gas station will tell her uncle who will tell his sister in law and your boss will most likely know you were playing hookie.

It may seem bothersome to some people but I love that the whole county is intricately intertwined through out the decades. I love that my mom finds out I'm home to visit before I get there because someone saw my car at the gas station. I love that when we had my Grandpa's funeral someone made us breakfast every morning and dropped it off on the kitchen table whether we were awake or not. I love that so many people came to share funny stories with us about Pappy (i.e. him picking them up by their belt loops and shirt collar and throwing them out of his bar.) I really love that people knew him for 80 years and they remembered the strong, healthy, I-will-kick-you-ass, Pappy, more than the stroke victim Pappy. I love that they think of him as  the Pap that back in the day would load all the neighborhood kids up in the back of his pick up and take them to football games. 

Accountability. I think its an important virtue we all need to have. And I am blessed that I grew up where I did and how I did.

Thank you Mom and Dad for making me be accountable. In life, in school, at church, to old ladies at the grocery store;  just in general.

better late than never

some more photos I took for my cousin Tony's "day after" session.

all of these were taken on my parents farm. 

Dad told me he was thinking about repainting the white barn.

I made him promise to leave one side cracked and peeling because it makes such a pretty backdrop.

scout to my lou

I love this old Girl Scout poster

Speaking of Scout's

Have I told you lately how adorable my pupcakes Scoutie Louise is??

{sunshine nap}

cause she is kinda my favorite part of the day lately.

I posted a bunch of old family photos up here if you want a good laugh.

gold sequins

Do you know how hard it is to find a pair of gold sequin (booty) shorts? I didn't either until I needed a pair for my Halloween costume. 

I found this handmade dance costume at goodwill for 99 cents 

but I need shorts (& tights) to wear with it (i AM a lady after all)

I'm Still trying to think up my superhero name and figure out how i'm going to go the whole Halloween party without going to the bathroom. I'm pretty sure  with this get up its impossible to  pee without disrobing every time.

so if anyone knows of a reputable place that sells glitterfied hotpants let me know.

and maybe a cape.

happy Friday :)

I

funeral boots

My Pappy passed away late Monday evening (October 3rd)  in a ball of fury, and on his own time, just like everything else he did in his life. It was a blessing we had been praying for, him to be able to leave us, and not be in pain anymore. I am thankful I was fortunate enough to be there for those last sweet moments, counting his  breaths and holding his hand. I am so proud of my Grandma that night in the hospital. She was strong, and brave, and dealt far better than I would have leaving the man that had been by my side since I was 16 {they were married 62 years}. She told me yesterday she can't bear to sleep in their room because she wakes up thinking he is calling for her. I always romanticized him & my Mammie to be each others great loves and I really think they were. I like to imagine their fates were sealed together the moment they met during that square dance at the corner grill in Malaga.

My Grandpa's favorite color was red. Mammie's  is blue, but everything he ever bought her was red, and she wore it even though she thought it clashed with her fair skin. To honor him, we all wore a bit of red to the funeral home for calling hours on Thursday. Mammie insisted I wear my red cowboy boots because Pappy would've chuckled at the notion. Over this past week, I remembered why I love being from a small town. I appreciate every antidote and memory that was shared with us about Pap. His rough and tumble days of owning bars, and how he always "traveled with the Lord" {Lord Calvert}. I grew up on Mammie and Pappy's farm so I was lucky enough to have him be a constant in my everyday life. He was Colby cheese and trail bologna waiting on us after school, and he was the best part of Sundays, taking us out to breakfast after Mass. He was a spanking when I got a C on my report card, and he was the bumpiest back road, flying over the railroad tracks. He was whiskey slush on Thanksgiving, putting in hay on Saturdays, and the sports section. He was a family vacation in a RV, and he was fried bologna sandwiches. Pappy was the polka and every Ronnie Milsap song I've ever heard.

that's Mam and Pap on the far left. { Velour and denim }

they took a trip "out west" with my Grandma's brother and sister and their spouses.

Mom and Pap on her wedding day.

now I just have to figure out who is going to Polka with me when I get married.

one of the hardest things I've ever had to do

one of the hardest things I've ever had to do is to watch my Grandpa, my Pappy, the strongest man I've ever known fade away after his stroke 9 years ago. His mind has never failed, not even now, after we've spent the last week in the hospital watching his lungs fill up with fluid, and it getting harder and harder for him to breathe. The doctors said he was going to die last Tuesday, and every day after that. But he is stubborn and still fighting his losing battle. I'm not ready to be without him but I pray that he has the strength to let go and trust that we can take care of his "Normie" (my Grandma). He still wakes up and reaches for her when she walks into his room. Hearing her say goodbye to her husband of 62 years was the saddest conversation I have ever witnessed. Watching my brothers face while he watches his best friend, his Pappy, drown in front of us is a scene I will never get out of my mind. So if you believe in it please say a prayer that my Pappy can stop struggling, that he can go home to be with the Lord, and that we are all strong enough to let him go.

My Pappy during WWII.

isn't he handsome?